Insomnia
by tonotfeelyourrain
Summary: Who knew that insomnia could create such a strong bond? The connection forming was as inevitable as night itself. HPLL
1. Prologue

**A short little thing inspired by my own insomnia. I imagine that Harry would be one to have a hard time sleeping.. but it's lucky that he has a whole castle to explore (with the help of his invisibility cloak!) during those sleepless nights. And Luna is definitely a creature of the night. R/R!  
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**DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Jo is a goddess.**

They were probably the only two people awake at this hour and, somehow, they had found each other. These late night/early morning meetings had become a common occurrence. To pass the hours they talked. About everything. About nothing. Sometimes, they just sat together silently, keeping busy to themselves as if each other's company was enough to get through another sleepless night. The quiet castle towers were perfect sanctuary from the crowded dormitory occupied by dreaming (and often snoring) roommates.

_Why don't you sleep, Harry_? she had asked him once.

He had replied slowly, carefully, thoughtfully. Like he himself didn't understand his own insomnia. "I don't really know." Another pause. "I think.. that I think too much. About all of it, I guess," he finished lamely.

She didn't ask him to elaborate. She never did. She didn't probe further as to what he meant by "all of it". Instead, she just …waited. They sat in pensive silence a little longer before Harry felt compelled to speak again. "You know that stretch of time before you drift off? Right after you've decided to try to sleep?" he asked aloud.

Pale pink lips smiled at him as the blonde gave a soft nod of understanding.

"Well, for me, that bit lasts forever," Harry continued after her silent affirmation, "And during that, I'm sort of stuck with all of these.. non-sleepy thoughts. The kind of thoughts that usually end in nightmares." He raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. "And I _guess_ that I'd rather just wait until I'm completely knackered and pass out without thinking. Because it's easier to sleep that way. I think. At least without Dreamless Draught."

Harry leaned against the stone archway of the balcony they currently sat on and stared into the dark distance as the weight of his answer hung in the air. He felt slightly embarrassed at his rather revealing confession. What the hell did he even just say? And how is it that her simple question—one he didn't even have to answer- left him babbling like a loon? The moonlight bounced off the surface of the still lake. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her watching him.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could control what we dreamt of at night?" she stated rather than asked, her soft voice cutting through the heavy silence. She sighed contentedly at the thought. "I would love that power: to decide exactly what I wanted to see while I was dreaming. I suppose that it _is _an extraordinary amount of power for a person to have, but I think I'd be responsible enough to handle it," she added rather seriously and he smiled. "I'd spend my dreams traveling the world. Or I would dream myself very small and explore things from the perspective of a ladybug. Or I would have lunch with my mother. Or I'd dream of my own herd of Snorkacks!"

Harry turned his head and studied her face before quietly muttering to her, "Don't be silly."

She ducked her head slightly at his words. The girl's smile nearly faded completely before he grinned slyly at her and added, "Snorkacks travel in packs, not herds."

At this, she lifted her head and looked into his green eyes. She saw that they shone with mirth and also, but more subtly, with an unspoken 'thank you for listening'. She matched his grin then, tooth-for-tooth. "Oh yes, that does make more sense considering their cooperative behaviour patterns."

Harry laughed softly, feeling lighthearted at her calm response to his somewhat haunted feelings towards dreaming. They spent the rest of the night discussing the wonderful, silly things that their would-be dreams would entail- sharing, laughing, and helping expand each other's wishes and hypothetical fantasies until sleepiness hit them at last and they headed to their respective dorms.

Luna Lovegood was his nighttime savior.


	2. Chapter One: Saturday Studying

**A/N So here it is: the real chapter one! I can't believe I actually wrote another chapter. I can't believe I actually continued a story. I can't believe I worked on this for way too long.**

**But hopefully you will enjoy it. And hopefully you will review it.. yes?**

**Thank you for reading and favoriting and _reviewing _etc etc… it boggles my mind that people actually see my stories and read them! Me? I'm so touched. **

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Jo is a goddess.**

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So when it seemed like the world had stopped turning and everyone else they knew slept, the seventh year boy and sixth year girl kept living, feeling like the only two people moving within the stillness. Maybe that's what night is for: as a pause from life. But Harry and Luna were two people who understood too strongly that life didn't pause for anyone. Who knew that insomnia could create such a strong bond? The connection forming was as inevitable as night itself.

With each passing night, their friendship deepened. Unnoticeable to Harry, his nighttime interaction with Luna soon began to affect his daytime relationship with her. Since he'd known her, if Harry ever saw Luna in between classes or eating in the Great Hall she'd smile at him and he'd greet her in return. Furthermore, it was typically Luna that noticed him first. Now after spending so much time together, he suddenly felt more.. _aware_ of Luna. Harry found himself unconsciously seeking her out in the hallways, hoping for a glimpse of yellow-blonde hair. He'd never intentionally sought her out before now. Also unlike before, whenever he found himself running into her, he would stop and chat for a bit, much to the surprise of Ron and Hermione.

The change in Harry and Luna's relationship did not go unnoticed by his friends or the rest of the general Hogwarts population. Of course, Harry and Luna didn't broadcast that they spent most their nights together (not _together _together). Such declarations would only lead to nasty gossip and possible punishment from any faculty that found out (Professors could pretend that they didn't participate in the rumour mill all they wanted.. they weren't fooling anyone.). After all, people were already asking, "_Why_ is Potter hanging around _Loony_?" Perhaps ignorant and offensive reactions such as this were also a reason that Harry never denied his closeness to Luna. She had gone with him to the Department of Mysteries and battled death eaters with him- of course Harry considered her a friend! He had never tried to hide his friendship with Luna since that (stupid) first meeting aboard the train when he was trying to impress Cho Chang. Things had changed drastically since then; not only was Luna a friend, but now she was one of the people Harry felt closest to in the whole castle.

He had never meant to reveal so much to her, but with Luna, his thoughts (many of which he never knew he had) seemed to flow from him easily. Something about her quiet presence encouraged him to think about what he truly felt. And for that, Harry was grateful.

HLHLHLHLHL

Harry, Ron and Hermione were spending Saturday at their unofficial table in the library, working on their potions essays. They'd been at Hogwarts for over a month now, and as the readjustment period back into school life ended, their amount of seventh year class work had piled up significantly... at least for Ron and Harry. Hermione, of course, never fell behind if she could help it.

"Just a heads up, Luna might join us later," Harry mentioned as he continued to unpack some parchment and quills out of his rucksack. He was completely oblivious to the meaningful glance Ron and Hermione shared at his casual forewarning.

"Luna.. you don't say.." Hermione uttered to no one in particular. She then whispered so that only Ron could hear, "If they start snogging, we are leaving."

Ron coughed loudly; Harry could've sworn that he was covering up a laugh.

Harry halted in his organization of study materials and looked up at his best friends. With the couple sitting on one side of the table and Harry on the other, one might've compared the arrangement to an interrogation scene.

"What?" asked Harry confused, having missed the private joke between the two.

"Nothing, Harry," Hermione responded busily. She scribbled more lines onto her parchment. Although her eyes remained glued to her work, she kept smiling to herself in a way only piqued Harry's curiosity. It didn't help that Ron was also grinning like an idiot. Harry could've ignored them, he decided, but he didn't like the idea of being the butt of one of their inside jokes.

"Alright, what are you two on about?" Harry demanded, his eyes narrowing slightly. He took turns to stare at them both, but Hermione held her tongue. Ron, however, just shrugged at him.

"Nothing really, mate. You and Luna have been spending a lot of time with each other," Ron said matter-of-factly, leaning back on the hind legs of his chair, "it's natural that you want to spend some.. errr.. quality time with her in the daylight, as well."

Harry did not have the chance to respond because Hermione cried out indignantly, "That is _not_ what I meant, Ron!", finally putting her essay down to glare at the redhead. "That's not what I meant, Harry," she said more calmly.

Harry could only blink at her, completely bewildered, while Ron raised a haughty eyebrow.

"W-well what I meant," Hermione sputtered not-too-gracefully, "or what I was _thinking_, Harry, was that it only made sense that you invited Luna to join us since you've become such good friends."

"Well, that's what I just told him, isn't it?" responded Ron. "Did I not just say that, Harry?"

"But you made it sound so.. indecent," Hermione replied before Harry could chime in, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

"I did not," Ron protested smugly, "Just because you've got an absolutely filthy mind..." Ron looked at Harry and motioned his thumb towards the blushing girl. "Obsessed with sex," he mouthed and the shook his head in mock sadness.

"I have not got a filthy mi—oh nevermind! Just shut up and do your homework."

"Wait, wait. Hold on," Harry interjected, still slightly confused, but undeterred, by the sidetrack in conversation, "You're right: Luna is my good friend now and that's why I've invited her, but I don't understand why this is so funny to the two of you?"

"It's not_ funny_, Harry," Hermione tried to explain further.

"Of course it's not 'funny'," Ron assured him. "We'd never consider your love life 'funny', mate."

Hermione elbowed Ron sharply in the shoulder at the same time Harry exclaimed, "_LOVE LIFE?_"

"Shhhhh!" admonished Madam Pince from the front desk. The three of them sent an apologetic glance her way.

Ron was rubbing his arm and frowning at Hermione. Her tactic, however, was to pretend that the previous conversation never happened and was ignoring the two of them while unnaturally engrossed in her textbook. Or, at least, as unnatural as Hermione could look while reading a textbook.

"I'm not in _love_ with Luna," Harry whispered loudly.

"Well, not yet," teased Ron.

"Shut up, Ron," Hermione berated in a voice that clearly meant 'drop-the-subject'. "Harry, whether or not you're in love with Luna isn't our business anyways." She returned to her paper.

"No it's not," agreed Harry, still slightly miffed about the whole conversation. In love with Luna? Definitely not. He just didn't see her in that light.. never thought of her in that way. Sure, he could understand how Luna could be considered pretty. He supposed the only reason more of his classmates didn't pay attention to her was due to her ..erm, loony reputation- spectrespecs and crumpled-horned snorcacks were enough to scare any teenage boy, muggle or magical, away.

Luna was his friend, nothing more.

The three of them continued to work in silence for a while before Ron asked, "So, are you sure you don't fancy her a little bit?" Harry looked up from the paragraph he had been rereading for the past five minutes. He thought this conversation had ended. Harry expected some sort of reprimanding from Hermione telling Ron not to pry, but she, surprisingly, remained silent. With that bloody amused look on her face.

"I think I'd know if I fancied her 'a little bit'," Harry replied in a bored voice, trying to refocus on the healing properties of the peppermint roots. His friend snorted at that statement, but not the friend he expected. Both Harry and Ron looked at the Head Girl in surprise.

"Well, well. Someone's feeling rather cheeky today," Ron commented, a hint of admiration detectable in his voice.

She blushed once again, but pretended to not to hear Ron. "But would you really know if you fancied her or not? Let's be serious, Harry. Women can't understand what men are thinking half of the time because men themselves don't even know what they're feeling."

Ron listened to her words and nodded. "She's got a point, mate."

"And maybe you're not in love with Luna" Hermione continued slowly, paying no attention to Ron's interjection, "but you have to admit you have a certain fondness for her. Maybe it's not fancying her, but there's something there-"

"That's right: something there. Growing and flourishing. Like a mimbulus mimbly-whatsit.." Ron dramatically pantomimed a blooming flower with his hands.

"-and maybe the only time the idea will really hit you," Hermione suggested, still ignoring Ron, "is when it's unexpected. Like a bludger."

"Merlin's beard... sauciness _and_ quidditch references. All in one day. It's like she's a different witch," Ron remarked. He stared at her in awe and tugged one of her curls, as if he were testing whether or not she was real. She just batted his hand away and rolled her eyes.

"But the part that you're forgetting," Harry added, determined to throw his two knuts in, "is that we're talking about Luna Lovegood. With the radishes and the x-ray glasses and the blibbering humdingers—"

"The what?" Ron interrupted.

"You know.. blibbering humdingers?" Harry looked expectantly at the two of them. "They're morning sprites that communicate at really high frequencies so that humans can't hear," he explained without thinking. "So it actually sounds like a fuzzy ringing in your ears and that why so many people are in a foul mood when they…"

Ron and Hermione were just staring at him.

"—when they wake up," Harry finished lamely. Maybe he did know a little too much about Luna's strange creatures. "Anyways, the point is that I don't see her that way and never will," he emphasized. "Luna is just a friend. Friend."

All talk of Luna and Harry's relationship was dropped and the three students continued to work diligently on their homework assignments. However, Hermione couldn't help but notice that Harry seemed to have crossed out and rewritten the same sentence three times, and Ron observed that every two minutes or so, Harry would unconsciously look up at the library doors.

They shared another smirk.

HLHLHLHL

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**Please Read/Review! Love, Stelle**


	3. Chapter Two: An Unexpected Adventure

**A/N: I'm the worst updater ever. Also, this story is kind of an experiment to me: I'm using it to improve my writing, so I can't promise any sort of regularity in posting. I'm sorry :(**

**But it's suh-suh-summertime! And I have a LOT of time on my hands. And sleepless nights. Much like our favorite bespectacled wizard and quirky witch.**

**So please enjoy (I hope). And please R/R!**

**And also.. Thank you to everyone who has alerted or favorited or reviewed! La-la-love to you all.  
**

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Jo is a goddess.**

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The first time Harry and Luna "spent the night together" was completely unplanned.

Harry usually found ways to entertain himself while waiting for sleepiness to hit. Often late at night (or early morning, depending on how you looked at it), Harry made a trip to the kitchens for a light snack— filling his stomach with something warm usually made him drowsy enough to finally go to bed. While quickly scanning the Marauder's Map to make sure his pathway was clear, Harry noticed a set of footsteps next to the name 'Luna Lovegood' moving about the entrance hall. He briefly wondered what Luna was up to roaming the castle so late at night but brushed off any curiosity concerning the girl's eccentric antics. That is, until he realized 'Argus Filch' was only a few of hallways away and was currently heading towards Luna's labeled dot.

Perhaps it was his "saving-people thing" (as Hermione so often put it), but within seconds Harry had grabbed his trainers and invisibility cloak and headed out of the of the Gryffindor tower. The castle corridors were dark and silent with barely any moonlight shining through the stained-glass windows from high above. He moved quickly. With the aid of the map, Harry was able to make it to where Luna was in record time.. avoiding Peeves and utilsing different shortcuts along the way.

Although, her back was to him, he saw that she was still fully dressed in her day clothes and carrying a picnic basket. The tip of her wand was lit and guided her down the dark hallway.

"Luna!" he whispered loudly to her, panting slightly as he slowed his steps, still hidden in his Cloak.

She turned around slowly, unsure where his voice had come from, yet, at the same time, seemingly unsurprised to hear a voice at all. "Hello?" she asked calmly into the empty hall.

He made his way towards her, shedding the Cloak and revealing himself. "Luna, you can't go that way. Filch is coming and he's not that far from here."

"Hello Harry. That was a cool trick," she told him warmly, "I thought I recognized your footsteps."

Harry could only blink at her, momentarily caught off guard by her greeting. "My footsteps? Wha— Luna, didn't you hear me? We have to go or Filch will give you detention," he repeated more urgently. He didn't think Luna understood how dire the situation was. Or how much Filch loved getting students into trouble. Harry and his friends in particular.

The distant sound of a mewling cat interrupted their conversation. "_Nox_!" Luna whispered quickly as both she and Harry looked up in alarm towards the end of the hallway, afraid they'd been caught. Luckily, Filch and his lantern had not yet turned the corner, so the two of them remained temporarily unseen in the dark.

"Get under here," Harry whispered, trying to get closer to where she was. They collided softly and he reached out to grab hold of what felt like Luna's arm. He then threw his Invisibility Cloak over the two of them.

"Is this your invisibility cloak?" Luna asked intrigued. "I've never been invisible before."

"Errr.. yeah it was my dad's," he told her busily, "_Lumos_." Harry checked the Map to see if Filch was still... _right about to turn into their hallway_. Fuck.

"It feels no different than being visible I gu—"

"_Silencio, nox!"_ Harry cast quickly, just as a lantern illuminated the end of the hallway. Harry found Luna's hand and pulled her away from the caretaker's advancing form.

He felt bad about using a spell on her, but she was talking too much. Luna was weird that way, remaining calm, composed and somewhat chatty during even the most chaotic of situations. It was as if nothing in life surprised her.

Harry expertly navigated an escape route, single-mindedly determined to put as much distance between Filch and them as possible... so much so that he forgot about the enchantment on his blonde friend. When he felt like they were a safe distance away from Filch, he shed the Cloak.

"Err.. sorry about that Luna," he apologized after undoing his silencing charm.

"Oh, I didn't mind Harry," Luna told him, "It was actually really exciting. I've never been silenced before either... that's two firsts in one night!" She looked cheerful considering that they had just narrowly avoided detentions. "I didn't expect any of this to happen tonight, but all of the excitement was lovely."

They continued walking along the hall, Harry's wand lighting the way. He wanted to escort Luna back to her dormitory to make sure she wouldn't accidentally wander into Filch again. And he was also curious about what exactly Luna had been doing tonight.

"When I realized I was silenced, I actually started singing."

Harry balked slightly and glanced sideways at her; he always forgot how barmy Luna could be. She seemed completely serious. They had been practically running to avoid Filch's capture, and she had been singing a song the whole time? "You were singing," Harry repeated to verify he had heard what she said correctly.

"Only for a little bit. Then I grew short of breath from our running." She flashed a quick, soft smile. "So I just started talking to myself a bit."

Harry didn't know how to respond so all he said was, "Errrrr.."

"It's very nice, being able to _say_ what you're thinking about aloud and actually use words instead of keeping it all inside. Even when only you can hear you." She paused her steps for a moment before adding, "Perhaps especially when _only_ you can hear you."

Luna took the lead and steered them towards the West Wing as Harry mentally rehashed the confusing sentences that she just uttered. _Hmmm,_ he thought, _am I going mad or did what Luna just say make perfect sense?_

"Is that why you were walking around the castle tonight? To clear your mind?" Harry asked her as she led them up a flight of stairs to the fifth floor. They passed through a tapestry hiding a hole in the wall and ended up at the base of a spiral staircase. It's seemed that they had reached their destination because this is where Luna stopped before turning to him and answering, "What would be the use in having a clear mind, Harry? That would be boring."

"Somehow I doubt that your mind would ever be boring, Luna. Clear or opaque," he told her sincerely.

They stood there, silently facing each other for a moment. He was smiling at her, genuinely amused by tonight's turn-of-events, while Luna just tilted her head and observed him. If she was pleased or flattered by his unintentional compliment (_It was a compliment, wasn't it?)_, Harry couldn't tell. So he cleared his throat to break the silence.

"Ahem. So, erm, just keep an eye out for Filch the next time you decide to have a midnight picnic, alright?" He playfully poked at the picnic basket that she was holding.

He nearly screamed when a small, furry head peeked out.

"This is Corcoran, Harry. He's my rabbit," she announced, unaware of Harry's rapidly beating heart. He felt slightly embarrassed at how jumpy he had been at the unexpected third-party; it was only a typical, harmless rabbit. The only thing mildly peculiar about it was its shade of fur.

"He's ginger!" Harry laughed.

"Yes, but I like to think he's turning into a handsome auburn," she told him seriously. She lifted the basket up towards her face and kissed the rabbit quickly on the head.

Harry was suddenly concerned for the rabbit's health. Had it been in the basket the whole time they were fleeing from Filch? He had the horrible image of the poor creature bouncing around haphazardly inside Luna's basket. "Is he okay?" he asked.

"Oh don't worry Harry, Cory is a _very_ heavy sleeper. Especially after hopping around the forest and chasing Bowtruckles," she said fondly while scratching the rabbit's tiny, ginger ear. She looked up at Harry meaningfully, "That's why I went outside tonight."

Harry looked again at the fuzzy animal. That small, innocent-looking rabbit was responsible for the night's rescue mission.

"Well, you must really love him if you snuck out to the grounds so he could hop around at two in the morning," Harry joked.

"Yes, I do," she softly sincerely. "And I'm usually up anyways, but for some odd reason, Cory was awake as well and didn't want to be left alone. He normally sleeps through the night; his sleep schedule is much more solid than mine..."

Harry had noticed that Corcoran—or Cory—was no longer poking his head out at them but had once again retreated deeper into the basket. Presumably to sleep.

Luna continued, "And I could tell that he wanted to go outside. So we went." End of story. As if a bunny's inexplicable insomnia was reason enough to break curfew rules and risk disciplinary punishment.

Then again, insomnia was a weird thing.

"I think it worked, and you should probably get some sleep, too," he told her.

"Perhaps," she mused, as if weighing her options. "I don't think anything else could happen tonight that would be more exciting than running away invisibly from Mr. Filch." She smiled at him. "Thank you for the adventure, Harry."

"No problem, Luna. You were good company," he told her truthfully.

She beamed at him once more and made her way up the spiral staircase to the Ravenclaw Common Room Entrance, picnic basket swaying gently by her side.

As he headed back towards the direction of Gryffindor tower, Harry had the distinct feeling that Luna wasn't accustomed to being in her room so "early" in the night. He thought of all her mentionings that hinted that she was used to entertaining herself during this time. From what he gathered, Luna may have the same sleeping schedule as he did— or in their case, the complete lack of a sleeping schedule.

He wondered if he looked at his Map tomorrow night—really _looked_ at it—would he find another person wandering around the castle too, waiting, like him, for something to happen or for sleepiness to hit… whichever came first?

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**PS. All mistakes are mine. I have no beta :/**

**PPS. "Corcoran" is Gaelic for "a reddish complexion". **

**PPPS. I have no idea what the castle blueprint is, but I'm fairly positive that Ravenclaw Tower is on the west side, right?  
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